We must honor our Confederate dead

This letter is in response to Kevin Palmer's letter to the editor "Confederate Memorial Day is outdated" (April 30).

April 26 is designated as Confederate Memorial Day in the state of Georgia, and is an official holiday for state employees. On April 29, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed Senate Bill 27 into law, designating every April as Confederate Heritage and History Month in the state of Georgia. Kevin wonders why.

We recently held our annual Confederate Memorial Day service at Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta, on April 18. In my opening comments, I stated the reason why we were having our Confederate Memorial Day service:

"We are here today for one purpose, and one purpose only, to honor the Southern heroes who lie among us in this hallowed ground. To honor the Southern heroes whose blood was spilled on the battlefields, from Vicksburg to Gettysburg, and whom never came home or were heard from again. To honor the men who were paroled, from Appomattox to Elmira, and who came home to a desolate and destroyed nation. Let us not forget the women, who watched as their homes where burned, and most certainly fought and died to protect their families.

"Most, if not all of us here today are descended from these great men and women, our Southern heroes. Never forget them, never bring dishonor upon their name or deeds, and always remember the sacrifices they made, the legacy of independence they gave us, and as their sons and daughters, it is our duty, our duty, to see that these Southern heroes are never forgotten!"

Also, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides free headstones to mark the graves of Confederate soldiers. This is Kevin's tax dollars at work. he should keep working and paying his taxes. I thank him for helping us to place headstones on the graves of our Southern heroes!

Lee Herron

Edgefield, S.C.

(The writer is commander of the Brig. Gen. E. Porter Alexander Camp No. 158 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Augusta.)

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.

Honor their death, not their cause. The civil war proved that no state had the right to violate the constitution and wage war against the United States of America. That is what happened when Fort Sumter was seiged. The Civil war also ended a way of life in the south that saw no wrong in enslaving another human being. Can you imagine been born a slave and living the life of a slave your entire like. No human should have never had the gaul to think that they could do that to another human being and never giving it a second thought that in might be inhuman.

the south had a legal right to secede,once south carolina left the union for several weeks the union was asked to leave ft sumter ,how long would you wait if someone was on your property and refused to leave after you asked them.we did not raise a army to invade the north,i think it was that idiot lincoln that invaded the south to try and force the south back into the union.and get off that crap the war was about slavery.its really hard to deal with you people when you are so ignorant of our history

Georgia's losses in the Civil War were vastly higher than all the other US wars combined. After the war, Georgia was defenseless against the economic predation of the Northern states. It is entirely appropriate to have a day to remember those gave everything they had to create a new country.

Let me share a few little tidbits with the person with the GED that called Lincoln an idiot: 1. Had we still been governed by the Articles of Confederation, the South could have probably seceded without any provocations. We were under the United States of America. 2. Fort Sumter belonged to the federal government with its employees inside. 3. The civil war might not have been about slavery, but it was fought to preserve a way of like in the south that protected slavery. 4. You can't create a new state within the borders of another state. 5. Good luck with the continued work on your GED. HELLO! HELLO! Had to throw that in!

dbs, if there was no slavery there would have been no need for SC to consider leaving the union. Slavery was at the very heart of the matter. In terms of recognition of bravery and sacrifice we have a National Holiday that does this it is called Memorial Day. This is a day in which every soldier who has given the ulitimate is recognized. If there is a need to hold a second day of recognition specific to the Confederate Soldiers lost in the Civil War, then why not include a broader recognition for all sides in that war? Include both Union, Confederate, civilians and slaves that gave their lives.

If you look at the history of our great nation, you will find that the south has always lingered behind the rest of the nation in terms of progressive thought. ( a mild way of saying what I really want to say). i.e Charles Sumner, Thadeus Stevens. etc. HELLO! HELLO! I guess we'll forever bring up the rear as long as we have mr. GED posting here. HELLO!

no jack234 is just one of those liberal yankees that moved down south,to try and tell everyone how smart he is.well old jack,we have our confederate holiday (april 26) we now have our confederate history month and in 2011 we will have the commemoration of the 150th anniversary in georgia.stop by if you get a chance.in dixie land i'll take my stand,to live and die in dixie.ya'll carry on with that (slavery was the reason for the war)their is no cure for walking around stupid.

Im not celebrating that flag. I will used it as a door mat. Can anyone on here tell me something good about the confederate flag? What it stood for? What it stands for now? Why I only see white people with confederate flags? Can anyone change my views about the confederate flag?

userone--here is your answer about the flag ,the flag was designed by general beauregard.the red field represents the blood of christ,the white border represents the protection of god,the blue x represents the christian cross of saint andrew,the 13 stars represents the 13 southern states.the message of the flag--through the blood of christ,with the protection of god,we,the thirteen states,united in our christian fight for liberty

you say our confederate battle flag is the flag of slavery,but what about the us flag that was adopted in 1777,but the institution of slavery did not end until the signing of the 13th amendment in december of 1865.the confederate battle flag was used from april 1861 until april 1865.so if slavery was in existence for only four years under the confederate battle flag,but for 88 years under the us flag,how is it that the confederate battle flag is the flag of slavery and not the us flag

userone-The confederate flag has been used by some hateful people for hateful reasons.Read what dbs319 said thats pretty much the truth about the flag.It was not ment to be hateful just stupid people use it that way.

"their is no cure for walking around stupid." should be "there"
Because you use bad grammar doesn't mean you are stupid, just slept during grammar class. HELLO! HELLO! How can a flag that has colors that represent Christ when that same flag supported slavery and a southern way of life? HELLO! HELLO! A southern way of life that wouldn't be tolerated today by Blacks or Whites. HELLO! HELLO!

user here is the answer to your questions: the flag: Because it's a Christian Battle Flag that was emulated after St. Andrew, Jesus Christ's first disciple. In 69 A.D. in Petro, Greece -- now a part of Russia -- St. Andrew was jailed because of his teaching and preaching of Jesus Christ, his Lord and Master, and he was told he was going to be crucified on the cross. He begged that persecutor not to nail him to that Latin cross in the shape of "T" because he was not worthy of being punished the way Jesus Christ had been nailed. So he begged to be tied in an X-shape to the cross and the persecutor did what he asked him to. That X is a Greek symbol to CH, the first two letters in Christ's name. When St. Andrew was on the cross he continued his teaching of Christ and all the folks started believing him and for three days he remained on that cross teaching and after three days they begged the persecutor to take him down and when he did, St. Andrew came down off that cross and died, and he became a martyr and a saint.

"When (Civil War Confederate ) General Beaureguard decided they needed another flag, he chose the cross of St. Andrew for these reasons. Most Southerners, in fact, did not want to do away with the stars and stripes because they didn't feel they had done anything wrong. They thought it was the north who was eradicating the Constitution

now as for only whites with the flag: research this man:Confederate Flag defender, political activist, former President of the Asheville chapter of the NAACP and 52-year-old black man, H.K. Edgerton was recently accosted by two black men while standing by his confederate flag in front of Asheville High School. I hope this helps you understand that the narrow views that is the proproganda of the liberals, northerns and other uninformed cultures.

and here is a directu quote from H.K. Edgerton: And as for President Lincoln, our American hero, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation. In march of 1861 Abraham Lincoln called all those black leaders in his office and he told them -- Even if I set you free you'll be inferior. You need to get out of the country because I will colonize you. Lincoln proposed the 13th Amendment, being the only President ever to do so. That amendment said Congress would never have the power to interrupt an institution of state. He told the southerners they could keep the slaves if they paid the North a 42% tariff. The South agreed to a 10% tariff but not 42%. So, who I am supposed to blame the institution of slavery on?

The attack on the Confederacy doesn't get the attention it deserves. These blacks today have no idea what took place back then. (Blacks) earned a place of dignity in that war. If it wasn't for Africans that war would have lasted four days, not four years. We made all of the implements of war, we fought, we participated -- not one slave insurrection happened during that period of time. They did not have whips and guns forcing them to be there. God and his infinite wisdom brought these people here." learn more about this educated, wise gentleman

Are there days for the Korean War, Vietnam War, Mexican War, etc? I thought Memorial Day covered soldiers who served in all wars. Is there a need for a separate recognition for Confederate soldiers?
Posted by afadel on Sat May 2, 2009 7:48 AM....Either you don' know crap about US History or choose to ignore it. There are two memorial days in the South. One for those who fought and died in the War of Northern Aggression and one for all others who have died defending this country. Both died valiantly for what they believed in. The first ones defended their homes and families on their soil. All others died all over the world to make sure some one like you can enjoy your freedom whne you immigrate here.

Lies, Lies, Lies. That is essentially what the writer is peddling and only works for those unable to decipher truth. And then to add, that he thanks him (previous LTE'S writer)for his tax dollars, "to place headstones" on racist graves are/is a complete insult. Trying to get something from someone else's hard labor seems to be the common bond between ol' Lee and his lazy ancestors. Wow! It appears the south continues to be On The Wrong Side Of History.

Jackass234, show us in the US Constitution where it says a state my not secede from a union of states it freely joined. The reson the south lost was that the north had both a navy which the south did not and much better capacity to manufacture weapons of war. Be thankful that neither France or England would join the South as was requested. BTW, those were the stars and stripes on those yankee slave vessels that brought them here, so do we get rid of it as proposed for the stars and bars?

Junket, try studying US history and I don't mean the revisonist history found in current school and college texts. The primary reason for the war was the northern industrialists in Congress who attempted to keep the agrarian south subject to taxes and restrictions in commerce not applied to Northern states/industry. THAT was the PRIMARY reason for SC, an agrarian state and the other southern agrarian states to secede. The slavery issue was by abolitionist activists in the north and Lincoln used it to gain support from the Northern states, though they had many slaves of their own (as did blacks in the South).

Im not celebrating that flag. I will used it as a door mat. Can anyone on here tell me something good about the confederate flag? What it stood for? What it stands for now? Why I only see white people with confederate flags? Can anyone change my views about the confederate flag?
Posted by userone on Sat May 2, 2009 10:06 AM....Ignorant people like you are the reason people like me get an education. The stars and bars was a battle flag, NOT the flag of the Confederate States and is the Cross of St. Andrews. It was used as battle flags have been used throughout history-to give the troops something to follow in battle. If you want to wipe your butt on a flag because of slavery, try the stars and stripes, as that was what the yankee slave ships flew.